Texting while walking puts pedestrians in danger: UBC study

New UBC research analyzing actual pedestrian interactions with vehicles on busy streets concludes that distracted pedestrians face higher safety risks compared with undistracted road users.

New UBC research analyzing actual pedestrian interactions with vehicles on busy streets concludes that distracted pedestrians face higher safety risks compared with undistracted road users.

Previous studies have speculated that distracted pedestrians, such as those texting and talking on the phone, are at higher risk of being hit by a car due to failing to react to oncoming traffic or straying off designated crosswalks.

Indeed, the new study, published recently in Accident Analysis and Prevention, found that distracted pedestrians often remained unaware of their surroundings, making fewer adjustments to their path or speed, which decreased their overall navigational efficiency. This level of distraction can increase the severity of vehicle interaction and near misses by 45 per cent.

“Non-distracted pedestrians made safer choices when interacting with vehicles,” said lead researcher Dr. Tarek Sayed, a civil engineering professor and transportation safety expert. “They maintained greater distances from vehicles, yielded more frequently to oncoming traffic and adjusted their speed when necessary.”

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